Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Number of problems per encounter recorded by physician log, patient chart, and bill for 573 encounters.
Tables
- Table 1.
Number of Problems per Encounter and Percentage of Encounters With Multiple Problems
Encounters Problem Log Chart Audit Bill Note: Differences between log, chart, and bill for average number of problems are all significant at P <.001, except for those marked by an asterisk. * Significant at P = .036. All, n = 572 Average number of problems per encounter (± SD) 3.05 ± 1.9* 2.82 ± 1.8* 1.97 ± 1.2 Visits with >3 problems, % 32 26 14 Visits with >4 problems, % 18 14 3 Subset of patients over age 65 y, n = 132 Average number of problems per encounter (± SD) 3.88 ± 2.0 3.29 ± 2.0 2.42 ± 1.3 Visits with >3 problems, % 54 41 23 Visits with >4 problems, % 30 22 5 Subset of patients with diabetes, n = 39 Average number of problems per encounter (± SD) 4.6 ± 2.2 3.8 ± 1.9 2.5 ± 1.1 Visits with >3 problems, % 64 54 21 Visits with >4 problems, % 51 32 3
The Article in Brief
During the course of a patient visit, family doctors address multiple problems and issues (such as illness, mental health, and prevention of disease). In this study, family doctors reported treating an average of more than 3 problems or issues per visit. On average, the bill for the visit reflected less than 2 problems or issues. In making medical decisions during the limited time of a medical visit, the primary care doctor must prioritize the patient�s medical needs and coordinate care of multiple conditions.
Jump to section
Related Articles
Cited By...
- Changing Reasons for Visiting Primary Care Over a 35-Year Period
- Clustering and Healthcare Costs With Multiple Chronic Conditions in a US Cross-Sectional Study
- Much to do with nothing: microsimulation study on time management in primary care
- Family medicine, fast and slow
- Revisiting Primary Care's Critical Role in Achieving Health Equity: Pisacano Scholars' Reflections from Starfield Summit II
- The Full Scope of Family Physicians Work Is Not Reflected by Current Procedural Terminology Codes
- In This Issue: Powerful Ideas for Action
- Burden of common mental disorders in a community health centre sample
- A Primary Care Panel Size of 2500 Is neither Accurate nor Reasonable
- Capturing the complexity of first opinion small animal consultations using direct observation
- An Argument for Comprehensiveness as the "Special Sauce" in a Recipe for the Patient-Centered Medical Home
- The content of general practice consultations: cross-sectional study based on video recordings
- Estimating the Population Prevalence of Diagnosed and Undiagnosed Diabetes
- Overwhelmed Patients: A videographic analysis of how patients with type 2 diabetes and clinicians articulate and address treatment burden during clinical encounters
- Information Chaos in Primary Care: Implications for Physician Performance and Patient Safety
- Comparison of the accuracy of patients' recall of the content of telephone and face-to-face consultations: an exploratory study
- Does the evidence referenced in NICE guidelines reflect a primary care population?
- Family Medicine Outpatient Encounters are More Complex Than Those of Cardiology and Psychiatry
- Impact of EHR-Based Clinical Decision Support on Adherence to Guidelines for Patients on NSAIDs: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Primary Care: Current Problems And Proposed Solutions
- Primary care physicians' experiences with electronic medical records: Implementation experience in community, urban, hospital, and academic family medicine
- Knowing we practise good medicine: Implementing the electronic medical record in family practice
- Savoir que nous exercons une bonne medecine: Mise en aeuvre des dossiers medicaux electroniques en pratique familiale
- State of the Science: Promoting Self-Care in Persons With Heart Failure: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
- A Science of Connectedness
- How Often Do Physicians Address Other Medical Problems While Providing Prenatal Care?
- Confronting The Growing Burden Of Chronic Disease: Can The U.S. Health Care Workforce Do The Job?
- Perceived Complexity of Care, Perceived Autonomy, and Career Satisfaction Among Primary Care Physicians
- The Medical Home: Growing Evidence to Support a New Approach to Primary Care
- Global Health and Primary Care Research
- Is 'Clinical Inertia' Blaming Without Understanding? Are Competing Demands Excuses?
- In This Issue: Doctor-Patient and Drug Company-Patient Communication
- Describing Primary Care Encounters: The Primary Care Network Survey and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey
- Behavior-Change Action Plans in Primary Care: A Feasibility Study of Clinicians
- Randomized Controlled Trials: Do They Have External Validity for Patients With Multiple Comorbidities?
- Practice-Based Research in Primary Care: Facilitator of, or Barrier to, Practice Improvement?
- Is There Time for Management of Patients With Chronic Diseases in Primary Care?
- In this Issue: The Patient-Clinician Relationship and Practice-Based Network Research